Margo Euler leads the Unicorn Singers in a 40th anniversary concert

Tuesday

When Margo Euler founded the Unicorn Singers in 1979, she didn’t expect that 40 years later she would put on an anniversary concert and that the chorus would include three of its original singers.

Euler, 78, has an enviable energy and dedication. She has conducted more than 150 concerts and said she is propelled by her love of music, of course, but also her friendships with the 19 Unicorn Singers, as well as the 12 in the Broad Cove Chorale, a women’s chorus Euler started in 1976 shortly after she moved to Hingham. The two Hingham-based ensembles will perform “American Kaleidoscope: Choral Gems of the 20th Century” at 4 p.m. April 14 at Inly School in Scituate. The three original singers are Ed Bartholomew of Hingham, Jeanne Scammell of Norwell, and Stephen Tooker of Scituate.

“I don’t have a single friend who keeps working the way I am,” she said. “I keep going because of the people, and because I love all parts of putting on a program, though the physical part is harder now. It’s very strenuous conducting a chorus up on stage and the instrumentalists.”

What’s more, Euler has selected an ambitious musical program for “American Kaleidoscope" that has a number of fast-paced works, accompanied by dancers, a woodwind quintet, and a piano, as well as colorful projections on a large screen behind the singers. The music features many of the works the Unicorn Singers performed in their first concert.

“I grew up thinking of 20th century music as modern and weird, but now it doesn’t feel new anymore. It’s absolutely melodic and beautiful,” she said. “And it’s a variety of music that is so different even though it’s all written in the 20th century.”

To begin and end the program, the Unicorn Singers will perform pieces that evoke the American frontier as settlers moved west. “The Settling Years,” by Libby Larsen features songs set to the words of poems: Comin' to Town, Beneath These Alien Stars and "A Hoopla, during which high school dancers from Terri’s School of Dance in Abington will perform a dance inspired by a hoe-down. The finale features excerpts from “The Tender Land” by Aaron Copland, including Stomp Your Foot, which also will be accompanied by the dancers.

Other highlights are “Wedding Cantata" by Daniel Pinkham, set to words from Song of Songs, as well as works by Samuel Barber and Elliott Carter, whose "The Harmony of Morning" is a particularly challenging piece, Euler said.

Euler, despite her undergraduate study of music and extensive experience as a conductor, views herself as a collaborator who tries to bring out the best in her fellow musicians. Admittedly, though, she is a demanding perfectionist, whose singers are willing to work hard, often rehearsing for two hours without a break and practicing at home with the sound files she makes. And for many years, she was a one-woman production company, handling everything from publicity, finances, and program and poster design.

This concert is the last of the four productions of the 2018-19 season, which featured concerts of Leonard Bernstein, Broadway and Christmas music. Every season, the group donates proceeds from some concerts to a variety of local charities and performs at community venues.

“I don’t think of myself as a great maestro,” Euler said. “I have felt from the beginning that I am among peers and I’m not imposing my views so much as shaping what we think is working. The thing I have that they don’t have is this drive to organize and make something happen. I treat getting ready for a concert like getting ready for a big event, and I love it.”

Jody Feinberg may be reached at jfeinberg@patriotledger.com or follow her on Twitter @JodyF_Ledger.